Sesame Street… 20 Years & Still Counting
Sesame Street... 20 Years & Still Counting is a special aired on Friday April 7, 1989 on NBC. It was made to celebrate the 20th season of the popular children's show, Sesame Street.
This special, unlike most Sesame Street specials, was not made by Children's Television Workshop but by The Jim Henson Company (one of the few Sesame Street productions they directly produced, though an "Executive Producer for CTW" credit was included in the end credits) and was meant to air as part of The Jim Henson Hour, but ended up airing as a solo special the week before the premiere episode aired.
In the special, comedian Bill Cosby tells us about the history of the show while interacting with various Muppet characters. Among the subjects featured are the curriculum, the show's adult humor and even the foreign co-productions (e.g. Plaza Sesamo and Rechov Sumsum). There are also guest appearances; opera singer Plácido Domingo sings with Placido Flamingo, and Ray Charles sings "It's Not Easy Bein' Green". Meanwhile, Ernie and Bert are taping the street with their video camera so they can watch Sesame Street on television. Every now and then, we cut to Kermit the Frog in his Sesame Street News attire asking people (all of which are Grover) how to get to Sesame Street, occasionally running into people who were on the show when they were kids. The show ends with the characters all singing "Sing". The program was dedicated to the memory of Joe Raposo.
Cast
Human cast
- Emilio Delgado as Luis
- Sonia Manzano as Maria
- Bob McGrath as Bob
- Loretta Long as Susan
- Roscoe Orman as Gordon
- Miles Orman as Miles
- Linda Bove as Linda
- Bill McCutcheon as Uncle Wally
- Alison Bartlett O'Reilly as Gina
- Northern Calloway as David
- Jim Henson as Himself
Muppet performers
- Caroll Spinney as Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch
- Frank Oz as Bert, Grover, Cookie Monster
- Jim Henson as Ernie, Kermit the Frog
- Richard Hunt as Don Music, Placido Flamingo
- Jerry Nelson as Count Von Count, Herry Monster
- Kevin Clash as Elmo, Baby Natasha
- Martin P. Robinson as Telly Monster, Mr. Snuffleupagus
- Judy Sladky as Alice Snuffleupagus
- Fred Garbo Garver as Barkley
- Fran Brill as Prairie Dawn
- Camille Bonora as Ruby
Credits
- Executive Producer: Jim Henson
- Executive Producer for CTW: Dulcy Singer
- Director: Peter Harris
- Producer: Diana Birkenfield
- Writers: Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss
- Host:'Bill Cosby
- Guests: Ray Charles and Plácido Domingo
- Muppet Performers: Caroll Spinney, Frank Oz, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, Pam Arciero, Fred Garbo, Fran Brill, Camille Bonora, Judy Sladky, Martin Robinson, Bryant Young, David Rudman, Kevin Clash
- 'roduction Designer Victor DiNapoli
- Muppet Workshop Caroly Wilcox, Kermit Love, Richard Termine, Stephen Rotondaro, Mark Zeszotek
- Cast: Emilio Delgado, Sonia Manzano, Bob McGrath, Loretta Long, Roscoe Orman, Miles Orman, Linda Bove, Bill McCutcheon, Alison Bartlett, Northern Calloway
- Music: Joe Raposo
- Lighting Director: John Rook
Nielsen Ratings
The special ranked 68th out of 80 shows that week and brought in a 7.7/14 rating/share, finishing third in its timeslot behind ABC's Perfect Strangers (13.0/25, 44th) and Full House (14.6/26, 30th), and CBS's Beauty and the Beast (10.7/20, 55th).[1]